This habit of wanting to systematically tighten the noseband of one’s horse is unfortunately well established among riders. The reasons given for this are, among others: “It allows to have more control”, “Without it the horse is less precise in their mouth” or “It is to avoid horses opening their mouth or sticking out…
When I used to show, I thought it looked really cool to pretend I was measuring the distances between the fences and saying “Yeah there are 6 short strides, or 5 long there” when I actually didn’t know what I was doing 😂. Up until a little while ago, I still needed my little memo…
Putting a bit in your horse’s mouth has become a habit so rooted in our daily life that we often forget that this metal bar is anything but innocuous. A lot of articles spring up on the internet to warn us that bits hurt our horses, and are often highly guilt-creating towards using bits….
